Empire of Japan (I
The Empire of Japan is a prominent power of the Far East Iron and Blood 4: Powerplay. It is played by JoanK. Pre-PoD history Disclaimer: All of this section is a direct excerpt from Wikipedia. Prehistory and ancient history A Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the Japanese archipelago. This was followed from around 14,000 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the contemporaryAinu people and Yamato people,[19][20] characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.[21] Decorated clay vessels from this period are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world. Around 300 BC, the Yayoi people began to enter the Japanese islands, intermingling with the Jōmon.[22] The Yayoi period, starting around 500 BC, saw the introduction of practices like wet-ricefarming,[23] a new style of pottery,[24] and metallurgy, introduced from China and Korea.[25] Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han.[26] According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the 3rd century was calledYamataikoku. Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China.[27] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).[28] The Nara period (710–784) of the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered on an imperial court in Heijō-kyō (modernNara). The Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literature as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired art andarchitecture.[29] The smallpox epidemic of 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population.[30] In 784, Emperor Kammumoved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto) in 794. This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and prose. Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem Kimigayo were written during this time.[31] Buddhism began to spread during the Heian era chiefly through two major sects, Tendai by Saichō, and Shingon by Kūkai. Pure Land Buddhism (Jōdo-shū, Jōdo Shinshū) greatly becomes popular in the latter half of the 11th century. Feudal era Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of theTaira clan, sung in the epic Tale of Heike, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After his death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shoguns. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period(1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.[32] The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo. Go-Daigo was himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336. Ashikaga Takauji establishes the shogunate in Muromachi, Kyoto. It is a start of Muromachi Period (1336–1573). The Ashikaga shogunate receives glory in the age of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the culture based on Zen Buddhism (art of Miyabi) has prospered. It evolves to Higashiyama Culture, and has prospered until the 16th century. On the other hand, the succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war (the Ōnin War) began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States").[33] During the 16th century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and culturalexchange between Japan and the West. Oda Nobunaga conquered many other daimyo using European technology and firearms; after he was assassinated in 1582, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the nation in 1590. Here ends any copypasted content. Post-PoD History Toyotomi had himself proclaimed kampaku (regent) since his humble ascent didn't allow him to achieve the position of shogun. This position would then pass from father to son in the Toyotomi clan. Hideyoshi adopted the position of Taiko (retired kampaku) soon, his nephew Hidetsugu inheriting it, but with Hideyoshi being the actual ruler of the country. Once his second son Hideyori was born in 1593, Hideyoshi's nephew was forced to commit suicide in order to avoid any fights for succession. Invasion and subjugation of Korea Hideyoshi launched an invasion of Korea in 1592 with the goal of annexing Korea and the Jurchens , and defeat China so to eliminate the threat it put to Japanese interests. Within three months, Korea had fallen under Japanese control, and the Japanese armies, superior in many ways to their enemies, usually held the field in most engagements, but soon guerrilla warfare by Korean partisans disrupted their supply lines and the Japanese control over the peninsula was in danger. Eventually, a chain of tactical defeats due to undersupplied units caused the Japanese to retreat and sue for peace in 1595. But Japan was allowed by virtue of the peace treaty to keep the island of Jejo and the settlement of Busan in the south-east corner of Korea, as a trading goods depot. Hideyoshi didn't give up his ambitions and carefully planned for two years his next move. In 1597, a massive Japanese army stationed in Busan and commanded by Tokugawa Ieyasu advanced and quickly took the most important cities and ports of the southern and western coasts. His army razed and massacred whole coastal towns and ports which were quickly resettled with people of Japanese origin and unquestionable loyalty as supply depots. This time, the goal was merely to take possession of Korea and hold it Japanese. In less than half a year, the peninsula was firmly in Japanese control, supply lines running along the coast and through heavily fortified ports and depots. Thanks to the careful planning of Japanese generals, the Battle of the Yalu River, between Japan and Ming China , ended with a crushing Chinese defeat, who nevertheless managed to inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese army. Among the casualties, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the daimyo chosen by the Taiko himself to overview the Council of Regents until the coming of age of his son Hideyori. Both parties sued for peace, with Ming China weaker than ever and struggling with the Jurchen clans to its north and the Japanese too focused on brutally repressing Korean resistance and resettling its main cities with Japanese people, as well as the hereditary struggle following Hideyoshi's death in September 18th of 1598. Regency period White peace was achieved, with Japan in full control of Korea, officially a vassal state of Japan but actually another Japanese province, and the Ming forces depleted. Once Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, the Council of Regents formed by Mōri Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Shimazu Yoshihiro, who replaced Ieyasu in the Council. Although the lack of a unified rule caused serious troubles to the stability of the government, the period is marked by the invasion of the Ryukyu islands by the Shimazu clan in name of the Emperor and the Kampaku. In 1609, in the last days of the council, it was agreed that the Shimazu would be granted permission to vassalise the Ryukyus in exchange for a part of the vassalage being paid to the other regents and to the national treasury. In spite of the rivalry between the regents, it is known that they made pacts to ally in a succession of different campaigns to subjugate Japan. Aside of the regions of Kinki and Kanto , under control of the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa respectively, most of Japan fell to one of the five regent clans. Kyushu was reunited under the Shimazu, the Mori took hold of Western Honshu, the Ukita getting Shikoku and Awaji, the Uesugi the East of Honshu and the Maeda a sort-of buffer zone in central Honshu. Korea and Hokkaido were divided among other clans and daimyos loyal to the regents or displaced so that the regents could control their area of influence. 17th Century When Toyotomi Hideyori arrived to power in 1611, he found a country at peace, divided among few clans in the mainland and abroad, and richer than ever thanks to Portuguese trade. but with the arrival of the Norse-Dutch Miura Anjin (William Adams) , the monopoly soon ended as eminently Dutch ships of the VOC arrived to Edo , Osaka and Nagasaki . The Kampaku took advantage of their competition and opened the country's main ports to nanban trade, increasing its wealth and power. Thanks to Miura Anjin's work, soon Japan was able to field its own Western-style warships , whose first tests had been in 1609 with the conquest of the Ryukyu. The designs evolved along the first half of the century to adapt better to the conditions of the Pacific Ocean and more specifically the Asian Seabord. In 1662, when the last remnants of Ming China invaded Canton from its few remaining settlements in Taiwan , the opporunity to test the newfound naval might of Japan arrived. In a dashing raid, the Ming bases were bombed and soon afterwards its fleet sunk, leaving its army in Canton cut off its bases in Taiwan. This was followed by a massive invasion of the sparsely populated island and its settlement with Japanese people, as it would serve from now on as the headquarters of the Japanese Southern Fleet, tasked with the elimination of pirates and the escort of European trading ships to Japan. The arts of Miura Anjin extended over cartography, providing the Japanese with its first World Maps . These were used by the Japanese to establish direct trade with America . In Central America, a few Japanese trading posts were established apart from Spanish ports, where Japanese traders and sailors could stay and observe their traditions without nanban interference. In 1672, Toyotomi Hideyori died, and his son Hidetsugu took his place as Kampaku. Hidetsugu, more daring than his father, soon sent missions not to trade with the westernmost Spanish colonies, but to explore every square inch of sea between America and Japan, leading in the advent of the new century to the confection of the world-renowned Japanese Atlas, the most exhaustive and complete naval chart of the Pacific up to the date. It included a small archipelago in the middle of the sea, called by natives "Hawai'i" . Due to the massive distance, coordinating or even planning an invasion of the islands, which would make a great trading post and supply depot for the Japanese trading ships, was impossible and thus discarded. 18th Century The century of the 1700s started well for the nation of Japan, with the consolidation of its conquests in the previous century. Hidetsugu moved Japanese trade away from the Japanese mainland to Taiwan and Korea, and established yearly trade routes with America, similar to the Portuguese Black Ships of the 16th Century. Thanks to those measures, the expansion of Catholicism and nanban habits to the Japanese people was severely reduced and the old culture kept safe. Christian daimyos, and the Shimazu and the Tokugawa did not like these measures which pulled away from them the commerce which was the source of their power. Furthermore, population growth was far larger than economic growth, spurred by temporary wealth and, above all, the long-lasting peace for more than two generations, was the cause of much greater unrest. The mid-century would come with the conquest of yet more territories in Karafuto and the Asian mainland, a region to which the denomination of Kitaezo (which is the name for all Pacific islands North to the Japanese Home Islands) was extended. The second half of the century was mostly calmed and devoted to economic and demographic recovery from the massive colonisation-repopulation after these campaigns. Conquest of Karafuto Colonisation of Karafuto In order to diminish the unrest and overpopulation in the mainland, the successor of Hidetsugu, Yoshimoto, organised in 1742 the settlement of the island of Karafuto, north of Hokkaido and already home to a few Japanese fishermen. These large-scale settlements were seen as an aggression by its local Ainu people, which had previously been pushed away from Hokkaido as the Japanese took control over it in the 15th Century. The Easternmost clans of the Manchu, on Kitaezo, saw an oppotunity to weaken Japan for their own vague purposes, perhaps an invasion of Korea, and did not hesitate to provide the Ainu with modern weapons and even with troops of their own. From 1742 to 1746, Ainu skirmishes were rare and were carried out with primitive equipment, but then the Manchu brought advisors and around a thousand muskets, and the conflict became a full-scale war. The Kampaku, seeing the opportunity to end with all of his problems at once, called the Tokugawa and the clans from Kyushu to go to war in Karafuto, along with the Uesugi. The Shimazu apported a considerable fleet of their own to watch the coast of the island and prevent the enemy from being resupplied, but Manchu ships were allowed to pass as they were not in a state of war with Japan. The Japanese brought a force of 200,000 men that were fortified in a series of positions around the main settlement of Toyohara, and from there a force of 50,000 under Shimazu command hostigated the enemy. Meanwhile, settlement plans were still carried out, the settlements now fortified. The number of Japanese troops in total on Karafuto is estimated to have been of 300,000 during the campaign, one third of it being garrisons unrelated to the Kampaku's army. In the end, the Manchu brought over Karafuto a force equal if not greater than the Japanese, in order to aid the Ainu in their final assault of Toyohara which would bring an end to the Japanese venture. Battle of Toyohara The Shimazu, seeing the crossings of Manchu troops, alerted the Kampaku, who reunited all ships available in the country and brought with them as many cannons as they could carry, to be unloaded and carried to Toyohara. It is still the greatest concentration of early artillery ever displayed, with a number of cannons randing in the thousands. In the end, the forces that clashed at Toyohara totalled at least 500,000 soldiers, and the artillery involved goes from 1,073 cannons in some reports to 5,000, all of them on the Japanese side, for a mere 12 Manchu batteries. The most often used adjective for the battle is "slaughter". The Japanese formed 150,000 outside the city, facing an enemy roughly twice its size, with the other 50,000 men in a near settlement manoeuvring to attack the back of the enemy force. From hundreds of yards, the Japanese cannons fired from their strategically better located positions in and around the city, decimating Manchu numbers from afar. Chaos spread among Manchu ranks, and were pushed to perform a frontal charge against the enemy in battle formation before them. Divided between running away or forward, the Japanese army of 50,000 pushed them and the Manchu's reckless charge ended in disaster as shells kept raining. Once they were at range from Japanese musketmen, Manchu waves fell one after the other while Manchu artillery had fallen to the Japanese, who were using it against them. Caught in a crossfire, the Manchu force was completely annihilated, only a few hundred Manchus and a dozen Ainus captured where hundreds of thousands died. Japanese casualties were less than 10,000, mainly because of friendly fire when some shells hit the 50,000 men army as they stormed the enemy back, and a few hundreds due to the Manchu charge. With this flawless victory, the Japanese met no further resistance in their colonisation and rule of the island, and obtain proof to justify a conquest of the Manchu clans. The battle was also heavily influential around the world as the coming of age of artillery, which would meet its highest point with its widespread use by Napoleon. Thus the Battle of Toyohara is viewed as the primitive predecessor of Napoleonic warfare. Conquest of Kitaezo Leaving the cities' garrisons as local army, the Japanese fleet raided the main ports of Kitaezo and searched its coast for ideal landing spots. The army of 200,000 men split, 125,000 crossing to the continent from the northernmost spor of the island, and 75,000 being transported to Korea to attack from the South. In September 18th, 1746, the anniversary of the Taiko's death, Japanese troops marched into the Manchu territory of Kitaezo, taking all of its coast in less than two months. In November 17th, both armies met halfway to the other's starting location. Local fear and inability to field an army due to psychological effects of the Japanese victory at Toyohara led to the region surrendering practically without a fight. In December the 5th, a peace agreement was signed with the Manchus, by virtue of which the coast west of Karafuto became rightfully Japanese. Both the island and the land granted by the treaty was subject to the colonising process underwent by Hokkaido, Korea and Taiwan before them. 19th Century Japanese Civil War The end of the 18th century saw the death of Yoshimoto in 1789, and soon after wards that of his son Yoshiro in 1794, inheriting the position of Kampaku Toyotomi Inomasa, a mere 15 years old at the time. He bravely opposed the daimyos' will to impose another Council of Regency, and waged a 500,000 men army in a civil war that put him, along with the Tokugawa and Date clans, against the Shimazu and Mori clans. Maeda Nogane and Ukita Shiritsubo did not take a side in the fight. The Kampaku army totalled 1,250,000 men approximate, whereas the Second Army of the West could reunite 1,000,000 men, 250,000 of which were set to work in the navy. War was officially declared on 14th August 1798, and the next three years saw a number of skirmishes and a few major battles with inconclusive results. The West had by far the largest navy, and their strategy from 1800 on was to land troops in Kanto and Osaka to take the Tokugawa and Toyotomi stronghlods. Unfortunately, the Japanese Southern Fleet stationed at Taiwan, depended solely on the Kampaku, and it set sail for Edo to embark Tokugawa troops and land them in Kagoshima. The Shimazu had moved its troops and bases to Shikoku, in order to shorten supply lines and journeys, and thus Kyushu was relatively defenseless. Loyal clans in Korea received orders to group troops in Busan, which would then embark towards Fukuoka. In 23rd September 1801, when 200,000 Shimazu men embarked in Tosa towards Edo, they ignored that the Southern Fleet was on its way to Osaka to receive its orders. The unexpected engagement resulted in a crushing defeat for the West due to the overcrowded ships, which were more difficult to manoeuvre and much slower too. The battle evened the naval side of the war, and the West fought a defensive war from then on. Inomasa was already headed for Hiroshima with 650,000 men to force a Mori surrender, which was the only time in which the West could have an opportunity against Osaka. In the Autumn of 1801, inomasa secured several key strongholds on the way to Hiroshima, and Tokugawa Fuhide took the port of Tosa and Awa province. Fighting resumed in February 1802, when Fuhide launched a short campaign to take the rest of Shikoku. The Shimazu had spent the winter reinforcing Mori positions and fortifying ports in southern Kyushu, in anticipation of a possible landing from Shikoku. The final stage of the war took place in March 1802, with the decisive Toyotomi victory at the Battle of Hiroshima. Battle of Hiroshima On the 14th March 1802, the kampaku Toyotomi Inomasa moved his 650,000 men into Mori territory in order to lay lay siege to Hiroshima. Mori forces totalled 425,000 men, with Shimazu reinforcements of 250,000 men, totalling 675,000 men. Forces were even, but the West was in a dire situation: if Toyotomi had lost, he still would have half a million Tokugawa men to help him, but if Hiroshima did, the Mori would be forced out of the war and the Shimazu would have no hope of winning left. A week earlier, the Southern Fleet had embarked Kampaku troops from Korea which had successfully taken an unprepared Fukuoka and were besieging Nagasaki, but these news would only reach the Shimazu commanders in Hiroshima later into the battle. The Southern Fleet, along with the Tokugawa and Toyotomi fleets, attacked Hiroshima the previous day. Hiroshima was the main Western base in the area, and with the enemy coming from two directions, the Western fleet was crushed, and Kampaku vassels disembarked some cannons to be used as supplementary artillery against the West. During the first stages of the battle, naval bombardment, in spite of having a very short range, destroyed several positions and caused panic among some enemy regiments. The Western troops prepared for battle outside the city, so to avoid a siege and take advantage of numerical superiority, and carried with them all of the cannons that had been salvaged from the wrecked navy and taken from the walls of the city, and they did some damage before the Kampaku navy realised that the batteries were at range of their own guns. The battle itself was Toyohara all over again, with Western troops destroyed by enemy artillery and naval support, but in this case the West did manage to carry out a few charges against Kampaku lines, until news from Kyushu reached the troops and the Shimazu flank fell completely. Toyotomi's troops flanked the Mori forces and crushed them. Casualties are estimated at 300,000 for the West and 75,000 for the Kampaku. Regency of Inomasa Toyotomi Inomasa suffered major injuries during the Battle of Hiroshima, which left him disabled for life in a few ways. Although he imposed his will over the daimyos as his predecessors had, he was unable to produce any offspring until Toyotomi Yoshifune was born from his concubine in 1837, only nine years before his death. In a situation as singular as the one in 1598, Inomasa formed a Council of Regency once again. This one, though, was formed by clans that were strong in Taiwan, such as the Shoni, Korea, as the Hatakeyama, Kitaezo, as the Satake, Karafuto, as the Honma, and Hokkaido, as the Hokosawa. This balance of territories held the Council together against Honshu daimyos, but once the Kampaku was of age 15 and the Council had to dissolve, they tried to use their power, wealth and influence gathered through the years to secede from Japan and each rule their dominion separatedly. Yoshifune proved as tough as his father, and in the first year of his regency, 1852, he formally annexed the daimyos' lands under imperial authority. Regency of Yoshifune He arranged for the daimyos of the Home Islands to help him, and subdued the rebels one by one. In an effort to boost its own economy and improve its ability to recruit, equip, and deploy troops in his war against the rebels, the kampaku starts implementing European steam technology in most fields of the economy, rather than just railroads interconnecting the most important cities and clan capitals of the island, and develops the first Japanese steamboat. In 1854, the campaign against Taiwan, the last of the rebel dominions, the first modern naval artillery turret can be seen. Fruit of decades of study in a field which Japan pioneered as a fundamental part of battles, steam power allows for a mobile, spinning cannon mounted on ships. With this novel weapon, the Taiwanese Fleet is crushed. But there is much unrest and sabre rattle in Japan. sudden modernisation means for many to break with old traditions, and several daimyos request the Emperor to pronounce on the matter. The Emperor dies before his scheduled appearance to present his desicion, and the kampaku makes a bold move: he convokes a Council of Regency, with the Kampaku logically occupying the position of Head Regent, an inherited position as the position of Kampaku is, and the other four being great daimyos chosen from among the Reunion of Daimyos, formed by representatives of the different daimyos. The new Council approves of the modernisation of the country in 1857 and sponsors the appearance of great companies. Sumitomo and Matsui companies, having formed in the first days of the Kampaku bakufu, quickly bought machinery, lands, smaller companies and built factories, effectively monopolising Japanese industry for a short period, before the Kampaku and Tokugawa-sponsored Mitsubishi and Yasuda companies would put up some competition. They eventually grew to the point of generating 40% of Japanese GDP and have great influence over the local daimyos, and in consequence the Reunion of Daimyos. In 1868 the first corporation chairman is elected to the Council, and from that moment on the Big Four companies are known as zaibatsu. In 1874, the four elected regents are the chairmen of the Big Four, now definitely segregated from the clans that originally sponsored them and more power-hungry than ever. In 1894, their need for more raw materials and rivality with Shanghai led to the Manchu-Japanese War, with an overwhelming victory for Japan, which annexed the rich Manchuria and subjugated all of the traditionally Manchu lands under Japanese rule. Furthermore, in 1898 they manipulated the old Kampaku to be able to enter the Great War against the Netherlands in order to take the Philippines and, eventually, Malacca. However, Port Hadley long feared this movement and blocked the Japanese fleet through aggressive diplomacy and various formal procedures that delayed the invasion until Canton finally invaded the archipelago and frustrated Japanese attempts once and for all. Seeing Port Hadley as an actually powerful regional actor, the zaibatsu chairmen changed their foreign policy approach and tried to settle diplomatic agreements with them, but found frontal opposition from Marie-Charlotte, Lady of Port Hadley, who had grown weary of Japanese imperialism. 20th Century In 1907, Yoshifune died at age 69, leaving his 24 year-old son, Toyotomi Musashi, as the eighth and until now last Kampaku. the next year, the kampaku's eagerness to prove Japanese superiority and his own personal value would bring him to declare war and successfully annex the peaceful Kingdom of Hawai'i after the largest amphibious landing ever seen before. Hawai'i, however, had already been a Japanese outpost for a few centuries and its culture had been somewhat assimilated into Japanese folklore, leading to a Port Hadley observer in the landing calling it "The largest military parade ever seen before", seeing the nonexistant resistance that was put by the natives against the invading forces. Japan has steamrolled its way into the 20th Century and its industrialised economy is ever-growing thanks to Manchurian raw materials and new and strong relationships with Port Hadley. It's impressive navy is the spearhead of naval military technology, with the recent creation of the first Aircraft Transporters . Economy The basis of the current Japanese economy can be found in the rice brokers of Kyoto, Edo and Osaka of the early Osaka period. Since daimyos would receive and quantify their income and fortune relative to quantities of rice and this was originally expressed in the form of physical rice, these brokers based in the three largest and most important cities of the Home Islands became more rich and influent, being the base of the modern Sumitomo and Mitsui zaibatsu. Soon enough, their routes for rice transport and trade expanded to now-Japanese Korea, and some of their daimyos in unfertile lands received their income in the form of mineral extraction. This way, the rice brokers expanded their business, diversified, specialised, and favoured the early appearance of corporations, especially related to banking and dealing with certain prime matters. The Japanese process of modernisation, parallel to the Western countries, made the corporations evolve rapidly to industry in some cases, with small and marginal enterprises setting up manufacturing plants to gain a new market niche. Corporations flourished under the wing of clans, with only a handful of the smallest remaining independent of the larger zaibatsu. Through this path the Japanese economy reached its current state, with industry being its most important segment. Tourism is being discovered by moderately wealthy families of the country with the annexation of Hawai'i, the single most accessible and exotic region for most people of the Empire. Japanese economy is greatly industrialised and mostly self-dependent in metal supply, thanks to the great ore deposits in Manchuria, mostly exploited by the Sumitomo zaibatsu. The Mitsubishi zaibatsu is the finest ship manufacturer in the world, and has developed some aircraft of their own, some of which are even considered superior to the more advanced German designs. The Mitsui and Yasuda zaibatsu have diversified their activities, and are a close third and fourth in terms of soft power. The ensemble is known as The Big Four. Heavy industry is a great part of the global Japanese industry, accounting for 40% of the total GDP. Industry represents a 62% of the GDP and the primary sector represents a 18%, with fishing a 15%, and the third sector represents a rising 20%. The regions of Nippon and Korea concentrate the industry and up to 46% of the country's GDP, with Manchuria alone making up for another 20% thanks solely to its mineral wealth. Kitaezo is home to most fishing fleets and its GDP represents 12% of the country thanks mainly to that. The reduced size of Taiwan is responsible for it only holding about 12% of GDP is spite of having similar levels of industrialisation than Nippon and Korea. Hawai'i is basically a naval base but its fishing industry and the incipient tourism bring it to hold a 10% of the wealth of Japan. Government and politics Japan is formally an absolute monarchy, with an Emperor which holds all of the power. However, the country is actually an aristocratic corporate dictatorship, ruled by the Kampaku and the Council of Regents which hold the executive power and supported by the Reunion of Daimyo, which has the legislative power. The official capital remains Kyoto, but the actual, administrative capital is the city of Osaka. Under the Emperor and the Kampaku, there is a hierarchy of political power: the Sessho are governors of a region in the name of the Council and the Emperor, daimyo rule the provinces which the regions are divided in and samurai rule feuds, which are subdivisions of the provinces. The entire ruling class from feuds to the Council is known as the samurai caste, and only people of this caste can be in the Council, the Reunion or in a formal position of rule over a certain territory. Council of Regents The Council of Regents is composed of five members, one of which is the Kampaku or First Regent. Said position is hereditary and the person holding it serves as Chairman or President of the Council. The other four positions are elected by the Reunion of Daimyos. The Council speaks in the name of the Divine Emperor, and its word is thus as sacred as his, meaning that the will of the Council is law in the whole of the country, although it lacks formal validity until it is ratified by the Reunion of Daimyos. The Council of Regents appoints the Supreme Court to administer justice in its behalf and in behalf of the Emperor himself. The Council has its official seat in the castle of Momoyama near Kyoto, but all of its activity happens from the castle of Osaka, where the Kampaku lives. Since the 1890s, with the inventions of the radio and the telegraph, the Council only meets in full on very special and important occasions or to declare war. The Reunion of Daimyo The Reunion of Daimyo is formed by the daimyo of the 147 provinces of the Empire. All laws must be passed by the Reunion in order to be enforced. Although any people of the samurai caste can propose a law to the Reunion, requisites for doing so are rarely met. For a samurai to bring a law to the reunion, it needs to be signed by more than half the samurais of his rank in his administrative division and by all of his direct superiors up to Region level, and it will only be submitted to a vote the month after it has been presented and as long as the full chamber is present. Proposals by the Council are directly submitted to a vote the day after the proposal is presented, requiring only the daimyo who can reach the Reunion in time. The seat of the Reunionis in Castle Azuchi near Kyoto, but a National Parliament was built in Osaka at the turn of the century. The presence of daimyo in person is only required when the Council requests it, or when a new Emperor is crowned and all daimyo must swear loyalty to him. Most daimyo simply appoint representatives to assist to the Reunion on their behalf, usually a brother or close relative. Influence of the zaibatsu The zaibatsu are Japanese megacorporations that represent a large part of the GDP of the Empire by themselves. Most industry, financing services and resource extraction and management are provided or owned mostly by them, and their soft economic power far outweighs the local samurai and, in very specific occasions, their influence rivals that of the Sessho. It isn't surprising that the humble origins of their founders' and chairmen's families posed obstacles which were rapidly surpassed. Through adoption and name-changing, the leading families of all zaibatsu have become part of the samurai caste, with thousands of feuds and dozens of provinces under their control. Through this assimilation process, the Big Four have elected their chairmen into the Council, and the Reunion is under their direct control. Foreign relations and military The Empire of Japan maintains a relatively modest but extremely modern military, and although its navy has been reduced in size recently due to overcost in secret development projects it is probably the most formidable force of the Pacific. Its foreign policy is directed by the traditional regional rivalry between Japan and its continental naeighbours of Shanghai and Canton, which have grown significantly strong since the Chinese split formally ocurred in the 18th Century. Japan and Port Hadley signed the Taipei Pact for East Asian Prosperity in 1916, tying the strongest naval powers of Asia in a series of trade agreements and military treaties of mutual defence and assistance. The Port Hadley association with Portugal allowed the three nations to create the Eastern Oceans' Trading Sphere, an entente of nations designed to strengthen trade ties and provide support for its members worldwide. As a member of the EOTS, the Empire maintains interests in not only the Pacific but especially the Indian Ocean, and it has a permanent detachment in the port of Jakarta. Said detachment is shuffled every year, and usually conforms the finest and most modern of the Japanese Navy. As of 1931, the Aircraft Transporter Fujisan and its escort and screen vessels conform the Detached Task Force at Jakarta. It includes the battleship Ise, the light cruisers Yokohama, Busan, Okinawa and Honolulu and another 12 vessels between frigates and destroyers. Imperial Army Japan has an impressive army in terms of firepower and modern equipment. After the wars of the turn of the century, its effectives have been severely reduced as a result of casualties, peace, and retirement, with many officers being gifted lands or feuds à la Romaine in the conquered regions. The main strength of the Japanese Army lies with its artillery and support equipment, such as machine guns and even the yet-to-be-tested self-propelled artillery. State-of-the-art hydraulics have served to reduce recoil and mount powerful guns on an armoured chassis. The first prototypes are slow and clumsy, and in a clash against infantry they would easily be reduced, but this army has been designed to run behind friendly lines to suppress enemy support fire and positions such as machine gun nests. Imperial Navy The Japanese Navy is the most modern of the Pacific Ocean, and its vessels are undoubtedly the best and most prepared. Its size, however, has reduced sensibly due to long-lasting projects that have drawn funds from vessel maintenance. It has some of the first although still very primitive and extremely inneffective anti-air vessels, the frigates Miyamoto Musashi and Hattori Hanzo. Japan has a fleet composed of some 5 minesweepers, 15 frigates, 30 destroyers, the light cruisers Sapporo, Yokohama, Kagoshima, Toyohara, Busan, Okinawa, Honolulu and Nagasaki, heavy cruisers Osaka, Hiroshima, Taipei and Seul, the battlecruiser Kyoto, the battleships Ise, Musashi and Yamato and the Transporter Fujisan. Rumour has it, though, that the Fujisan is not entirely operative, and that its deployment was rushed to fit the tight schedule as a tour de force from the Japanese Empire. Imperial Air Force The incipient Japanese Air Force is currently subordinated to the Imperial Navy in most aspects, and most of its budget is directed at designing and producing small and fast craft or hidroplanes than can be attached to a Transporter or a Supplier vessel, old merchant ships that can harbour a small number of lighter-than-air aircraft and hidroplanes. However, a growing number of projects are directed towards planes with longer range and bombing capacity. Administrative divisions Japan is divided in six regions according to historical settlement or conquest and assimilation. Each region is divided in provinces, and these into feuds. Nippon Japan.png|Flag of the Nippon region Province.png|Provinces of the Nippon region, with the associated provinces of Okinawa and Hokkaido Nippon is the core of the Empire. It comprehends the Home Islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku, in which Japanese culture and might grew and blossomed until the glorious Invasion of Korea. It is divided in 45 provinces with representation in the Reunion of Daimyos. The provinces of Okinawa and Hokkaido are also historically associated to this region in spite of belonging to the regions of Taiwan and Kitaezo respectively. Korea Korea.png|Flag of the Korea region Korea_prov.png|Provinces of the Korea region Korea is the second most important region, and is home to the largest minority in the Empire, the Koreans, millions of descending from a few hundred thousand left alive by the ethnic and command purges carried out by the Taiko and the First Council of Regents in the late 16th Century and early 17th Century, which lasted through the entirety of the regency of Hideyori. It is divided into 28 provinces with representation in the Reunion. Taiwan Taiwan.png|Flag of Taiwan region Taiwan-Okinawa.png|Provinces of Taiwan region The region of Taiwan comprises the island of Taiwan and the various islands and archipelagos South to the Home Island of Kyushu, including the Ryukyu Islands, which form Okinawa Province. It's divided into 23 provinces with representation in the Reunion. Kitaezo Kitaezo.png|Flag of the Kitaezo region Kitaezo is the Japanese region with the lowest density of population of the Empire. It comprises the island-provinces of Hokkaido and Karafuto, and the the Manchurian coast in front of them, which has been under Japanese rule since the mid 18th Century. It's divided into 23 provinces with representation in the Reunion, 21 of which on the mainland. It is also home of the second largest community of Jurchens or Manchus, the Empire's second largest minority. Manchuria Manchuria.png|Flag of the Manchuria region Manchuria is the largest province of the Empire, and third most wealthy, thanks to its unparalelled mineral resources. It's home to the largest community of the second largest minority of the Empire, the Manchus, and it's divided into 23 provinces with representation in the Reunion. Hawai'i Hawai'i.png|Flag of Hawai'i region Hawaii.png|Provinces of Hawai'i region Hawai'i is the less populated region of the Empire, and comprises a small community of natives and hundreds of thousands of Japanese-descended colons and merchants with base on the islands for more than two centuries, which have turned the archipelago into a tropical Japanese Home Island. Some of the smallest islands are places of retirement where people travel to isolate from the real world and practiced the old Japanese traditions undisturbed for varying lengths of time, and the people of the island pride themselves on having a flag more beautiful than that of the Nippon region itself. It is divided into 5 provinces with representation in the Reunion. Category:Countries Category:I&B4